BY KASMIAH MUSTAPHA - 16 SEPTEMBER 2014
Walking as a regular form of exercise helps in both mental and physical well-being
Weight loss
1 - According to Mayo Clinic, 30 minutes of brisk walking can burn about 150 more calories a day. A person weighing 70kg can burn about 440 calories by walking 10,000 steps briskly.
It also helps in losing abdominal fat as revealed by researchers from the University of Virginia. They found that women who did three shorter, fast-paced walks a week (plus two longer, moderate-paced ones) lost five times more belly fat than those who simply strolled at a moderate speed five days a week, even though both groups burnt exactly the same number of calories (400) per workout.
Diabetes
2 - Walking has been found to reduce the risks of diabetes as it improved the body’s ability to store sugar and burn fat, which after a few weeks reduced the effects of diabetes. Studies have found that women who worked up a sweat more than once a week reduced their risk of developing diabetes by 30 per cent. For those already diagnosed with the disease, they are 40 per cent less likely to develop full-blown diabetes.
People who take insulin may be able to reduce the amount of medication they need, as physical activity enables their body to use insulin more efficiently.
Breast cancer
3 -Numerous studies have found that walking can reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer. It is believed that the exercise helps alter the ratio of oestrogen metabolites and reduces total body fat which may change the internal makeup of a woman’s body and make it harder for breast cancer to take hold.
The recent study by scientists at the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health at the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France, found that post menopausal women who exercised for 30 minutes per day for at least four years were 10 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer.
Stroke
4 - Research found that walking briskly for just 30 minutes, five days a week, can significantly lower the risk of stroke. Researchers at the University of South Carolina found that people with increased fitness levels associated with regular brisk walking had a 40 per cent lower risk than those with the lowest fitness level.
Brisk walking also significantly boosts stroke survivors’ physical fitness, mobility and quality of life. The American Heart Association recommends walking from three to seven days a week, for 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the stroke survivors’ fitness level.
Dementia
5 - It can boost memory and improve brain function. Italian researchers enlisted 749 people suffering from memory problems in a study and measured their walking and other moderate activities, such as yard work. At the four-year follow-up, they found that those who expended the most energy walking had a 27 per cent lower risk of developing dementia than those who expended the least. This could be the result of physical activity’s role in increasing blood flow to the brain.
Bones
6 -According to wheelingwalks.org, weight bearing exercise such as walking appears to stimulate bone formation. It strengthens muscles that, in turn, pull or tug on bones, keeping bones strong. It also improves strength, balance and coordination — all which help reduce the risk of falls and bone injuries.
Research shows that postmenopausal women who walk approximately 1.6km each day have higher whole-body bone density. Walking is also effective in slowing the rate of bone loss from the legs. Knee arthritis sufferers were able to increase the distance walked by 18 per cent and gained nearly 40 per cent boost in joint function after finishing an eight-week walking study.
Heart
7 - Studies have found that walking at a moderate pace for up to three hours a week or 30 minutes a day can cut the risk of heart disease in women as much as 40 per cent. An analysis of numerous studies on walking and heart disease concluded that the risk for developing heart disease decreases as the amount of walking increases.
People with peripheral artery disease — blocked leg arteries - who took part in a treadmill walking programme improved their ability to walk and their overall quality of life, according to a 2009 study by researchers at Northwestern University.
Heart attack patients who participated in a formal exercise programme had death rates 20 to 25 per cent lower than those who did not, according to an analysis of numerous studies.
Stress
8 - According to Mayo Clinic, physical activity helps to bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, called endorphins. As you begin to regularly shed your daily tensions through movement and physical activity, you may find that this focus on a single task, and the resulting energy and optimism, can help you remain calm and clear in everything that you do.
A regular walk is a reliable way to lower stress and anxiety and boost your mood.
At Temple University, researchers studied 380 urban women over eight years as they went through menopause. The more they walked, the less stress, anxiety and depression they experienced during and after menopause. The researchers concluded that when a person walks, he or she is less anxious, less stressed and feels better.
Kasmiah Mustapha
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